Electric igniter.



UNITED STATES Patented June 30, 1903.

PATENT OFFICE.

ALBERT F. GANZ, OF HOBOKEN, NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNOR TO .THE ATO- IGNITERCOMPANY, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY.

ELECTRIC IGNITER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 732,346, dated J' une30, 1903.

Application led January Z9, 1903. Serial No. 140.987. (No model.)

To @ZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, ALBERT F. GANZ, a citizen of the United States,residing at Hoboken, in the county of Hudson .and State of New Jersey,have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Electric Igniters,of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in electric igniters of the typesuggested by Leon J. Le Pontois, wherein a y-wheel or other inductorhaving a cut-away portion or portions in itsrperiphery is rotated withrespect to a coil wound on the pole of a magnet, so as to generate anelectric current by induction. With the Le Pontois apparatus theduration of the current thus generated has been extremely brief, so thatwhen a mechanically-operated circuit-breaking device is employed forbreaking the circuit between the sparking terminals when the currentreaches its maximum electromotive force great difficulty has beenexperienced in so timing the mechanism that the circuit-breaking deviceshall operate in unison with the igniter. If with the Le Pontoisapparatus the attempt be made to prolong the duration of the generatedcurrent by extending the length of the cut-away portion of theiiy-Wheel, such an expedient will necessitate the employment ofobjectionably large and heavy apparatus. I aim to overcome this specialdefect by employing an inductor of relatively small diameter,

' formed either as a separate disk mounted on the engine-shaft or as apart of the ily-wheel itself, and arrange the magnet and coil withrespect to said inductor in such a way that the cut-away portion of thelatter may extend through a muchAk greater arc than would be possible ifformed directly in the periphery of the iiy-wheel.

It has been found in practice in experimenting with apparatus of the LePontois type that some diflculty is experienced in starting theapparatus, owing to the fact that the engine ily-wheels are firstrotated by hand, the relatively low surface speed of the inductorresulting in the generation of a current having too low an electromotiveforce to produce a proper spark. If, on the other hand, the coil were sowound as to give the proper electromotive force at low speed, then theengine the number of turns in the circuit v will be sufficient to givean available electromotive force at low speed, while when the engineattains the normal speed part of the turns may be cut out to therebyprevent the generation of a current of objectionably high electromotiveforce. y

The invention also utilizes details of construction and arrangement,both electrical and mechanical, all as will be more fully hereinafterset forth and claimed.

Generally speaking, my objects are to provide an electric igniter of theLe Pontois type which shall be simple in construction, eifective inoperation, and by which I am enabled to overcome certain defects andobjections in the previous apparatus which have been observed fromexperiment.

In order that the invention may be better understood, attention isdirected to the accompanying drawings, forming part of thisspecification, and in which-Y Figure 1 is a sectional perspective Viewshowing one form of my improved igniter with a single coil; Fig. 2, acorresponding view showing another form of the igniter with a doublecoil wound on two poles; Fig.

3, a diagrammatic view showing one arrangement for utilizing a pluralityof coils, and Fig. 4c a similar lview of another arrangement forutilizing a plurality of coils.

In all of the above views corresponding parts are represented by thesame numerals of reference.

Referring first to Fig. l, the engine-shaft lis shown as carrying adisk-like inductor 2, keyed thereto and having a cut-away portion 3 inits periphery. Instead of usinga separate inductor thelatter may composea part of the fly-wheel. The inductor is made of steel and may belaminated or not, as desired. The magnet 4 is supported in. any

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suitable way and is of a general horseshoe shape, one of its poles 5being curved to cooperate closely with theinductor at one side and theother being equipped with a polepiece 6,coperating with the inductor atadiametric point. When a single pole-piece is used, the cut-away portion3 of the inductor may be somewhat wider than said pole-piece. In Fig. lI illustrate the magnet 4 as being composed of a series of laminze inorder to reduce hysteresis. Carrie-d by the pole-piece 6 is a coil 7,having the proper number of turns and being composed of insulated wireof the proper cross-section to give the desired electromotive force atnormal engine speed. This coil connects either directly to the sparkingterminals through a circuitbreaking device or, in the case of ajumpspark, indirectly through an induction-coil, both of whichexpedients are common in this art.

In Fig. 2 the magnet 8 is illustrated as being composed of a singlecasting and is of a double-horseshoe shape, being provided with twopole-pieces 6 6', each carrying a coil`7. In this way the twopole-pieces overlap the cut-away portion 3 of the inductor, so that themagnetic circuit of the magnet is never completely broken. Ifdesired,the pole-pieces 6 may be formed of separate laminze dovetailedin place. In any case the magnet is supported with respect to theinductor by suitable mechanism. In Fig. 2 I illustrate the magnet asbeing formed at its sides with lugs or ears 9, through which asupportingrod l0 extends, engaged by a set-screw 11, so that the magnetmay be adjusted with respect to the inductor.

Referring to Fig. 3, I illustrate one of the coils 7 as being formed ofvery much finer wire than the other coil and show a switch l2 forconnecting either of these coils at will with the sparking terminals 13.When the engine is starting, the line-wire coil is connected with thesparking terminal, so as to generate a current of the desired.electromotive force at low speed. When, however, the engine reaches itsnormal speed, the switch is moved into contact with the contact-plate14, so as to connect the other coil in circuit with the sparkingterminals to give a current of the desired electromotive force at thenormal speed.

In Fig. 4 I illustrate the coils 7 arranged in such a Way that when theengine is starting the coils will be in series with each other incircuit with the sparking terminals 13. When, however, the enginereaches its normal speed, the switch l2 is operated so as to cut out oneof the coils, whereby a current of the desired electromotive force willbe geuerated at the normal speed.

The operation of my device will be readily understood, as it is the samein principle as the Le Pontois igniter, currents being inductivelygenerated in the coils 7 or 7 by the rotation of the inductor wit-hrespect to said coils.

Having now described my invention, what I claim as new therein, anddesire to secure by Letters Patent, is as follows:

l. In an igniter of the character described, the combination with aninductor independent of the ily-wheel, said inductor having a cut-awayportion of large angle, the peripheral extent of said cut-away portionbeing smaller than the continuous portion, ofa magnet whose polescooperate with said inductor, and a coil carried by a pole of themagnet, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

2. In an igniter of the character described, the combination with aninductor independent of the fly-wheel, said inductor being continuousexcept for a single cut-away portion in its periphery, of a magnet whosepoles cooperate with the said inductor, and a coil carried by the magnetat one of its poles, sub.- stantially as and for the purposes set forth.

3. In an igniter of the character described, the combination with aninductor independent of the ily-wheel and having a cut-away portion, ofa magnet whose poles are arranged diametrically with respect to theinductor, and a plurality of coils carried by the magnet at one of itspoles, one of said coils being wound to produce currents of higherelectromotive force than the other coil', substantially as and. for thepurposes set forth.

4. In an igniter of the character described, the combination with adisk-like inductor continuous except for a single cut-away portion inits periphery, of a magnet whose poles are arranged diametrically of theinductor, and a coil carried by one of said poles substantially as setforth;

5. In an igniter of the character described, the combination with adisk-like inductor continuous except for a single cut-away portion inits periphery, of a double-horseshoe magnet whose poles are arrangeddiametrically of the inductor, and a coil carried by one of said polessubstantially as set forth.

6. In an igniter of the character described, the combination with adisk-like inductor continuous except for a single cut-away portion inits periphery of a double-horseshoe magnet whose poles are arrangeddiametrically of the inductor, and a plurality of coils carried by oneof said poles, substantially as set forth.

7. In an igniter of the character described, the combination with aninductor having a cut-away portion, of a double-horseshoe magnetsurrounding the inductor with its poles arranged diametrioally thereof,and a plurality of coils carried by one of said poles, one of said coilsbeing wound to give a current of higher electromotive force than theother coil, substantially as set forth.

8. In an igniter of the character described, the combination of aninductor having a cut- IOS IIO

away portion, a magnet arranged adjacent to the inductor, a plurality ofcoils carried by said magnet,sparking terminals,and a switch forregulating the number of turns in circuit with the sparking terminals,substantially as set forth.

9. In an igniter of the character described, the combination of aninductor having a cutaway portion, a magnet adjacent to the inductor,two coils carried by one of the magnetpoles, sparking terminals, and aswitch for connecting either of the coils in circuit with the sparkingterminals, substantially as set forth.

